The network reported that Bobby Riggs intentionally lost to Billie Jean King in "The Battle of the Sexes," a 1973 tennis match viewed by 50 million Americans at a critical time in women's fight for equality.

Riggs, then 55, owed the mob more than $100,000, according to the Outside the Lines report. The alleged match fix was set to erase that debt, and was set up by a convincing victory by Riggs over Margaret Court, the top-ranked player in the world.

Riggs' life turned into a constant hustle as he sought unique, sometimes lowly, ways to make money. He racked up gambling debts before allegedly setting up the grandest hustle of his life, according to the ESPN report.

Riggs laid the foundation with the win over Courts and generated interest in the match with King by playing the part of a chauvinist villain.

Hal Shaw came forward and said he overheard mobsters Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello agreeing to the deal at a Florida country club. He shared the story with ESPN, calling it a 40-year weight off his shoulders.

"There are certain things in my life that I have to talk about, have to get off my chest," he says of the meeting, which he says occurred during the last week of 1972 or the first week in 1973. "It's been 40 years, OK, and I've carried this with me for 40 years. … The fear is gone. … And I wanted to make sure, if possible, I could set the record straight -- let the world know that this was not what it seemed to be."

"This story is just ridiculous. I was on the court with Bobby and I know he was not tanking the match. I could see in his eyes and body language he wanted to win. People need to accept he had a bad day at the office -- just as Margaret Court did when she played Bobby. It was 40 years ago and I won the match and I am 100% sure Bobby wanted to win as badly as I did. Those who bet against me lost money but the result is the same today as it was 40 years ago."